Dossi Hyacinthe Wilfried is a student in École ABC de Bobo in Burkina Faso. Of special note is the fact that he is the first student to be awarded a place in the school.

Hinrik Thorsteinsson and Gully Jonasdottir are the school‘s directors. They were asked to represent ABC Children‘s Aid in the country and they headed out in 2007. A company named Atorka Group donated to ABC a large amount of money for the purpose of starting a school in Burkina Faso and initially an old school building was used. Hinrik and Gully collaborated with natives in choosing the 100 or so children that would start their studies in the then upcoming school. „To us everybody were living in extreme poverty and some had absolutely nothing and those were the ones chosen for the school. That‘s what ABC stands for; helping those who don‘t have any hope,“ Hinrik said in an interview.

Hinrik and Gully were staying with friends at the time when the school was being prepared. Right across from them on a large plot of land were huts that housed a large family. There lived a man with his children and grandchildren. One of his daugters was a single mother of three and among the children was Dossi who became the first child admitted to the school. „He got to go to school and thus became the first child chosen. Our son, who was just twenty at the time, wanted to become his sponsor,“ says Gully. Dossi‘s family lived in dire circumstances and in the city of Bobo Dioulasso is a large area that‘s completely poverty stricken and illiteracy is among the highest in the world in Burkina Faso.

„Dossi has done well and he is a very good and affectionate boy. He has a lot of dignity and he is very hard working. I expect a lot from him in the future,“ says Gully.